Marketing Melodie Speaks: Nat’l Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

I’m excited to share an amazing opportunity I recieved to speak at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences- Pacific Southwest Chapter this coming Thursday November 3rd, 2011 at their “Advanced Techniques of Social Media’ in today’s diverse market” workshop at Groovy Like a Movie- A San Diego based film and movie production company. NATAS is dedicated  to serving the television community while recognizing and awarding excellence in television. Among the audience is going to be producers, anchors, reporters and many others working in the television industry.

As a Marketing Professional, one of the most effective Marketing tools  I use to build my community and generate new business is professional speaking. It’s not a secret,  I’ve already shared with everyone how I grow my business through professional speaking. It provides you with more credibility, it’s a strong marketing tool and speaking also inspires others. Speaking is something everyone has an chance to learn! To provide you with even more assistance on being an effective speaker for your industry, I even compiled Social Media Tips for professional speakers. I highly recommend checking out the resources I created, they will definitely help you get started!

Speaking to NATAS is a great chance for me to connect with people who work in television and share my knowledge on how to create a cohesive online presence with traditional media. Time sure flies with social media! Almost 3 years ago I wrote the post Traditional Media Companies- It’s time to Go Digital Media. Years later I’m happy to see that many traditional media companies have successfully integrated social media  to engage, interact and compel their audience to continue viewing them as a credible resource!

I’m really looking forward to meeting all the industry leaders in television this Thursday and continuing to share social media and professional speaking tips with all of my readers! If you’d like to hire me to speak at your next event, I’m happy to come and share my insight and knowledge!

Thank You for an Epic Tweetup @Nordstrom_Rack! #RackOpening

Last night was proof that RETAIL THERAPY WORKS! I attended an amazing tweetup. Probably one of my all time favorite tweetups. The event was gorgeous, executed perfectly, planned so well, had the nicest staff, so many fun surprises and the marketing/outreach done prior to the tweetup was smart and strategic!

Almost 2 weeks ago I receive a nice email in my inbox from Norstrom Rack.

The first thing they did right was invite their target audience. They also did research on people who are influential in the San Diego Social Media space and invited that group too. They wanted to create buzz around the event and generate positive conversations. That’s exactly what they did. Oh and they made sure to have an easy to follow #hashtag #rackopening.

I step into the store and am immediately greeted with peach champagne and a $50 gift card I can use the same day! I am a huge Nordstrom lover. I buy almost everything at Nordstrom from makeup to jeans, to shoes and jackets but I rarely shop at the rack. Tonight may have changed my mind because the rack had so many designer and high end brands at a fraction of the price! I couldn’t help but grab things off virtually every rack because everything was so cute yet cost effective.

After putting a few things in my cart, I take a photo and post a tweet with the lovely fashionista @eyemusing. Little did I know this tweet was going to score us both a complimentary must-have for our wardrobe! Since they were doing giveaways the entire night, the store manager was following the hashtag and chose winners from the people tweeting/posting photos of the event! They called our names to the front and let us know that we won a free item in our cart! I am seriously so grateful! I chose a brand new pair of designer, Hudson Jeans! SCORE!

The rest of the evening was spent shopping, catching up with friends, conversing with the nicest staff who were so happy to help at any time and still feeling so grateful to have won a complimentary must-have piece for my wardrobe. I decided that it was an evening to stock up on pants since winter is coming up and living in San Diego, pants are pretty minimal in my wardrobe. I got a pair of black slacks, gray yoga pants and of course my gorgeous pair of Hudson Jeans!

Nordstrom Rack Did it Right! Here are just a few things Nordstrom Rack did perfectly that you can model when hosting your next event:

1. Invite your target audience to the event

2. Invite Social Media influencers to create buzz

3. Create an easy to follow event hashtag #rackopening

4. Make sure you have enough staff to handle the event

5. Be generous with giveaways

6. Treat all customers/attendees with respect

More awesome Facts about Nordstrom Rack Plaza Bonita:

1. They have an in house tailor, one of the few rack stores that offer this service.

2. Go Green with an electronic receipt! They emailed me mine right to my email.

3. DESIGNER everything at more than half off! I didn’t know the Rack stores carried so much awesome merchandise.

THANK YOU again Nordstrom Rack Plaza Bonita for an amazing, fun and fashionable evening! I wish you the best of luck with your grand opening and much success after that! I’ll definitely be talking about this event for years to come because it was EPIC! 

Talking Nerdy in San Diego @TiltedKiltPub #NerdsUnite

This past weekend, nerds united in San Diego and it was a wonderful time! Thanks to social media and TalkNerdyToMeLover.com‘s @JenFriel I had an opportunity to host a lovely group of  ladies who are like-minded, smart, passionate and of course understand and embrace digital technology and social media just like me! We organized a meetup through the power of Twitter! Yes, like energy always attracts like energy and this past weekend was a prime example. @ItsMeJoolie, @MsMeghanBrown, @MegCorbs, @iamrachelwho were all part of the #NerdsUnite crew who came down to San Diego from our neighboring town, the City of Angels!

The girls arrived and we spent the afternoon hanging out, speaking geek, talking tech and of course nerding out! I am so grateful for my online community and even more grateful when I’m able to connect on a more personal level in real life. Every single one of us all met through Social Media yet the first time we meet in real life, we are instant friends. Rather than greeting with a handshake, we embrace with a hug because we already feel so connected thanks to the social space.

I was so happy to learn that @MegCorbs, recent SDSU grad used to live in the complex right next door to me. Meg was able to show the ladies the San Diego way by welcoming everyone with California Burritos, which I just learned aren’t found in LA!

We soon made our way over to Oggis for some pre-meetup drinks and more nerdy talk! I learned about the Facebook page Nothing Rhymes with Orange. A viral phenomenon that was accidently started by one of the lovely ladies in our group @iamrachelwho. I am fascinated by the whole story of how this page blew up on the internet currently with over 300K fans!

After Oggis, we cabbed it to Tilted Kilt Mission Valley where we were meeting up with everyone else. @TiltedKiltPub generously welcomed us with great service and  hosted appetizers! Their nachos are absolutely delicious and so far my favorite nachos I’ve enjoyed in San Diego!

Of course being techy nerd girls, we checked in, tweeted and took a lot of photos of our fun night! Soon after we arrived more friends showed up including some of my great friends from the San Diego Tech scene @danlarsen, @iPodschun, @robotfaith, @thecrazymagnet (just to name a few).

Nerdy shirts are a must for a nerdy meetup. This one definitely wins for my favorite! @thecrazymagnet exaplained that he purposely wore his nerdiest shirt for the occasion!

After hours of good food, drinks, nerdy talk and of course a fun night, we made our way back to my place for a nerdy girl’s sleep over!

This entire weekend reinforced my belief on the importance of connecting with your online community in real life. A real life connection and an online connection both go hand in to create a strong bond, build community and mix in some real live fun! I want to once again thank the #NerdsUnite girls for making the drive down (it was an honor to host and hang out with phenomenal women in my industry), my San Diego community for attending the event and the Tilted Kilt Mission Valley for hosting us!

Networking Tips I Learned from Meeting @KeithFerrazzi in San Diego

I had the honor of meeting my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi in San Diego this week at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD where he interviewed the renowned Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Co-founder of Qualcomm.  As I mentioned in my post welcoming Keith Ferrazzi to San Diego, there’s not a single time I recommend a business book that I don’t mention his best seller, Never Eat Alone! I’ve learned so many great tips for networking, connecting and building professional relationships through Keith’s books, blogs and videos. Meeting him in person really reinforced many of these tips  Here’s a glimpse of my amazing evening spent networking with entrepreneurs and meeting Keith Ferrazzi. I’ll end the post with valuable networking tips you can apply to the very next event you attend!

The evening started off with a networking dinner so of course, I had an opportunity to meet some great community leaders, UCSD students and affiliates. The photo below is a prime example of never eating alone!

I followed one of Keith’s golden rules for meeting the speaker at the event. Get to the speaker, before he goes on stage! I saw Keith Ferrazzi walk by and immediately went up and introduced myself to him. He’s extremely personable, enthusiastic and positive. I manifested this exact moment into my life because in 2009 when Who’s Got Your Back came out, I told Keith Ferrazzi that I would get his second book when I met him so he could autograph it and that’s exactly what happened!

 After enjoying a great dinner, Dr. Irwin Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi took the stage. Keith Ferrazzi’s job was to be curious and ask Dr. Jacob’s questions related to the topic of “Why great relationships matter in business?” Keith did a great job at asking questions that prompted Dr. Jacobs to share his inspirational story. As both a Marketer and an Entrepreneur, I really resonated with both Dr. Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi. I definitely learned a lot about having a vision and following it, being a great leader and of course networking! Below are some networking tips I’ve learned from Keith Ferrazzi, some of them definitely came into play during this particular event!

1. Reach out before the event- If you’re attending an event and want to meet someone specific, reach out to them before the event. I’ve already discussed how to work a conference before it begins. This tip is very similar. Social Media is a great resource that allows you to connect. Before attending the event, I tweeted Keith a bunch of times and of course wrote my post to welcome Keith to San Diego. Reaching out can also be done by a simple email. You can let someone know that you enjoyed an article they wrote, congratulate them on a recent accomplishment or connect with them on a more personal level if you know a hobby they enjoy. (In the tweets below I engaged several people in conversation about Keith Ferrazzi and I even received a reply from him acknowledging that he would see me tomorrow!)

2. Arrive Early- If you want to meet the Speakers, they’ll definitely be at the event at least 30 minutes before hand. Chances are the speaker won’t be bombarded by everyone else so you may have an opportunity to introduce yourself before anyone else. If you wait until after the event to try and connect with a speaker, chances are they’re going to be busy talking to everyone else and also thinking about going home so it’s harder to make a personal connection. I actually arrived at UCSD 30 minutes early so was one of the first one who was let into the room.

3. Talk To the Organizer- Arriving early also gives you a chance to find and introduce yourself to the organizer and let him/her know who you may be looking to connect with. Ask the organizer if there’s anyone they feel would be a great connection for your industry. The organizer knows everything that’s happening behind the scenes and everyone who’s going to be at the event. See if they can introduce you to some other attendees or even the speaker. When approaching the organizer, make sure to be mindful of their time since they’re probably still planning last minute updates and make sure to thank them for hosting you.

4. Ask Questions- After many presentations and panels there is often a chance for audience Q & A. This is your golden opportunity to get in front of the room and let others know what you do. Before asking your questions, clearly state your name with a brief intro. Since you have everyone’s attention, there very well may be others in the room who are seeking your service, product or who many want to collaborate with you. Asking questions not only gives you mic time, it also allows you to interact and stand out to the speakers and attendees.

5. Give Books as Gifts- Since the holidays are approaching so quickly, tis the season to start thinking of gifts for your prospects, clients and colleagues. Books are full of information and are personal because you’re recommending something that has helped you. Autographed books are even better! Keith reminded me of how great of gifts books can be as he was signing mine. He asked if there was anyone I’d like to give “Who’s Got Your Back” to so he could sign the book to that person. I didn’t have anyone in mind, so I just told him to sign his name in case I did want to give the book away as a gift. Well Keith came up with an even better idea by writing “Melodie’s Got Your Back”. This way I’m able to keep the book myself or also give it away as a gift.

Again, it was such an honor to meet my favorite author, hear Dr. Jacobs speak and connect with other Entrepreneurs. I’m grateful that attending the event inspired me to refresh my own networking skills, allowing me to share tips with you. If you have additional networking tips, please leave them in the comments below! I’m personally hosting a networking event and seminar coming up on Wed. November 2nd! If you’d like to attend my next seminar where you’ll definitely have a chance to apply these networking tips, you can register here. If it’s your first time attending one of my seminars, please email me: melodie at marketing melodie dot com and I’ll send you a code fore $10 off. Happy Networking and if you don’t already have Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your back, check them out at your local library or purchase them! You won’t be disappointed.

Talk Nerdy To Me Lover’s @JenFriel Live in San Diego #NerdsUnite

Everyone, meet @JenFriel.  Jen and I met on Twitter a few months ago. I have a few San Diego  friends connected with her (@danlarsen who I heard may  teach her to Kite Surf and @zrdavis who was inspired by her to blog his journey in the Appalachian trails). After seeing several conversations with her name in them. I went on her site, TalkNerdyToMeLover.com and found that I really identified with a lot of her stories. Her blog is honest, authentic and tons of fun! (Basically how I choose to live my life!)  I tweeted her a hello and she gave a Twitter *wave* back. To this day I’ve met so many amazing people on Twitter from lifelong friends to business alliance who help me succeed in what I do.

After connecting with @JenFriel I soon began tweeting with some other lovely ladies from the #NerdsUnite crew @ItsMeJoolie, @MegCorbs, @msmeghanbrown because nerdy girls need to stick together. I must say that I’m amazed and inspired by each and every one of these ladies in many different ways. Through the power of Twitter we’ve planned a fun evening for everyone this Saturday at the Tilted Kilt Mission Valley! Yep this whole thing was set up via Social Media! Hey I planned Foursquare Day in Hong Kong at my computer in San Diego through Twitter so planning a local event through Twitter is a piece of cake!

You’re all invited to join me as I host this amazing group of #nerdsunite ladies Saturday October 15th 8pm at Tilted Kilt Mission Valley! We’ll give them a warm welcome to America’s Finest City! Come enjoy hosted apps generously provided by the Tilted Kilt Mission Valley, drink specials and a fun time! (This is also the same night as my good friend @downtownrob’s Wine To Water Charity Event. Luckily his event starts at 6pm so ther’s plenty of time to support Rob then stop by the Tilted Kilt after!)

When: October 15, 2011 8PM until they kick us out!

Where: The Tilted Kilt Pub Mission Valley – 1640 Camino Del Rio N, San Diego, CA 92108 (Not to be confused with the Downtown location)

Why: Why not?! Nerd out with great company, like minded friends, drinks, food and knowing my San Diego friends we’ll probably tweeting the night away to document an amazing time!

Head count is appreciated so RSVP is highly recommended but not required.  If you’d like to attend, please tweet me, leave a comment or just show up! Can’t wait for you all to Talk Nerdy To Me in San Diego!

Welcome to San Diego @KeithFerrazzi!

This coming Tuesday October 11th, 2011, Keith Ferrazzi is going to be in San Diego for the  Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD. He’s interviewing Dr. Irwin Jacobs – Co-founder of Qualcomm. Keith Ferrazzi has been an inspiration to me ever since I read Never Eat Alone in 2008. There’s not a single time I’m recommending actionable business books that I don’t bring up Never Eat Alone. When he started his book tour for his next best seller, Who’s Got Your Back in 2009 I even blogged about why I wanted to meet him and top 3 reasons why Keith should come to San Diego. Keith even replied to me in direct message back in 2009 that I was so excited to receive!

Since that post I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet but I always believe things happen exactly when they’re suppose to happen so I’m thinking that tomorrow is the day I’ll finally meet Keith Ferrazzi in San Diego!

Never Eat Alone dispels the myth that  business relationships must be kept strictly professional. Business relationships can be rooted on friendship, authenticity and generosity just like personal relationships. I identified with this book so much because I use Social Media as a primary tool for creating marketing opportunities for both myself and businesses. If you read my recent post on being cast for a Microsoft commercial you’ll understand the many opportunities I’ve created for myself through Social Media by sharing personal stories.

Social Media is a medium that encourages people to be honest, authentic and real when creating marketing messages for their business. It personalizes and humanizes experiences for consumers, which is the exact type of connection Keith Ferrazzi emphasizes creating in Never Eat Alone. Keith, clearly understood the importance of building strong relationships even before Social Media became a prominent marketing tool. But since Social Media has revolutionized the way we communicate, Keith himself has also embraced the space through connecting with people on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.

If you’d like to join me in welcoming Keith Ferrazzi to San Diego tomorrow. You can register for his event here. You’ll learn Why Great Relationships Matter in Business. Dr. Irwin Jacobs will be in conversation with Keith Ferrazzi.

In addition to attending Keith Ferrazzi’s event tomorrow I’ve been nudging him on Social Media to see if he has some time come into San Diego a little early to enjoy a nice walk, hike or even a meal with myself and perhaps some other San Diego business leaders who are interested! If you’d like to connect with Keith in San Diego, please let him know! The San Diego social space has so many amazing leaders that I know Keith will have an opportunity to learn, collaborate and enjoy some great spots during his time here!

If you don’t already have Keith’s books, check them out at the library or purchase them below! I’ll write a follow up post soon after meeting Keith Ferrazzi tomorrow! I’m really looking forward to it!

 

 

 

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